Penn State Football: Hamilton Sets Receptions Record

He is not the fastest, he isn't the quickest or the most elusive. He is in many ways not entirely the fancy, flashy skill player of the James Franklin mold. He had to reinvent himself as a slot receiver, trying something new to reawaken the spark he had early in his career. He had to fight through injuries, playing hurt, and playing well in spite of it.

Now in 2017 DaeSean Hamilton is reaping the benefits of that faith it would all turn out okay in the end. Faith has a strange place on Penn State's team. Be it Juwan Johnson getting closer to religion, Jason Cabinda praying as Penn State drove down the field against Iowa, of Hamilton simply staying the course. It all seems to be working out.

And for his efforts Hamilton became Penn State's All-Time receptions leader on Saturday afternoon a three touchdown, nine catch outing that gave him 180 career receptions. One more than another all-timer in Deon Butler.

“When I redshirted, I had no idea anything this crazy or anything this magical would happen, but I’m glad it did,” Hamilton said. “Those guys were really good players, so it’s really cool seeing my name at the top of that list.”

True to form, Hamilton largely shrugged off his own success Saturday for the team's growing ambitions. He has seen it all, in many respects he has seen the bottom far more than the mountain top, and as the Nittany Lions improved to 5-0 on Saturday, those views shone far brighter than any of his own achievements.

“We want bigger things than just my career receptions record. We want the national championship.”

His coach might not be willing to let it go though.

“I made a big deal out of it in the locker room with the guys,” James Franklin said. “They’ve been playing football at Penn State for a long time. There’s a bunch of really good players, so whenever you can say you’re the all-time leader at Penn State, that’s pretty special. I’m not even the all-time leader at East Stroudsburg in anything anymore.”

Grading Penn State has been a bit of a challenge so far this season. The Nittany Lions are getting the job done, a 5-0 record speaks for itself and aside from wins against Pitt and Iowa, the points are coming in bunches.

Nothing sums up the weird grading issues like Penn State's 45-14 win over Indiana on Saturday. The Nittany Lions were the better team, racking up yards and points in all phases.